The Little Taylor
by lovelystarz
Summary: Kit Taylor lived in what she called the best city in the world but growing up in the city that never sleeps as the only child of a cop is never easy, especially if you're the daughter of Mac Taylor.
1. Chapter 1

Letting out a loud yawn Katherine Taylor or Kit as she preferred to be commonly known as walked out of school, it had been a surprisingly very long day but that hadn't dampened her spirits. It was a beautiful fall day in New York and Kit had survived her first day of high school, she hadn't been stuffed into a locker or given a whirly, the older kids hadn't picked on her, none of the stuff that her brother had teased her about had happened. The day had gone surprisingly well, Kit had been slightly nervous about today as she was starting a school where none of her old friends had done, she knew no one and that prospect had been slightly daunting but she had made some friends. The last thing that Kit had wanted was to be the freshman with no friends as lot of people already had friendship groups. As she continued to walk down the steps of the main entrance to her school, the smile that had been on Kit's face dropped when she spotted two people that she would have preferred to have see right now. Detectives Donald Flack Jr. and Jessica Angell, now there were a few reasons why they could be here. The two of them could be here on the job, waiting for a suspect or something but Kit doubted that. They were clearly here for her and judging by the goofy grin on Flack's face as she stood by his car, he wasn't here because something had happened. More like he was here to mock her and taking a deep breath Kit made her way over to the two dark haired detectives.

"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't Miss Katherine McKenna Taylor looking like a nice refined high school student, never thought I'd see the day." Flack joked and Kit forced a smile on her face.

"Flack, Angell… Dare I ask what brings the two of here today of all days?" Kit questioned although she probably had a good idea why the two detectives were here. There was only one reason why they would be here of all places instead of doing something of actual worth, like working.

"Can't get anything past you Kit-Kit? Your old man asked if we could swing by and collect you as he's working a big case, he wanted the best for his little girl on her first day of high school, so your being picked up by two of New York's finest." Flack boasted and Kit just looked at Angell who rolled her eyes at her partner's over inflated ego. Kit really couldn't believe that this was happening, she had spent most of the day worrying about getting picked on by the other kids, she should have actually been worrying about getting picked up by two cops who worked with her dad.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, it's no problem, Mac had something special planned for you but then this case popped up and he couldn't come down and surprise you like he planned so he sent us instead. Honestly we're both honored as it's not everyday you see Kit Taylor in a school uniform." Angell joked and Kit couldn't help but blanch at the uniform comment. That was something that she was still trying to adjust to as she had gone to a middle school where there was no uniform to a high school where uniform was mandatory and very much enforced.

"My dad had to send me to one of the very few public high schools in New York which has a uniform." Kit wearily replied tugging on her school skirt, to be fair the uniform wasn't too bad. All it consisted off was a navy plaid skirt, white shirt and navy cardigan with the school's crest or a cardigan depending on her mood so Kit could live with it. After all the uniform could have been a whole lot worse.

"Come on, it's a good school you can't blame your old man for wanting the best for you." Flack pointed out and Kit shrugged her shoulders in response, she guessed Flack had a point but she really did need to have a conversation with her dad about the whole being picked up by cops things.

"You know we should probably get a move on as this whole thing we have going on is getting quite bad." Kit wearily replied as she carefully looked around and saw other kids starting at her, Flack and Angell.

"Why?" Flack asked.

"Because you two have this whole cop thing going on." Kit replied as she pointed to the two detectives, it was becoming glaringly obvious to her that people were much aware that she was talking to the cop and as much as she liked Flack and Angell, Kit wanted to get the hell out of here rather quickly before anyone assumed anything.

"And how is that a bad thing?" Angell asked in surprise, sharing a confused look with Flack.

"It is not a bad thing that you the two of you are cops and I have a lot of respect for law enforcement and sure I'm used to people knowing that my dad is a cop and occasionally being picked up in a cruiser by a couple of uniforms. But this is my first day of school, high school none the less! People are going to think that I'm you're parolee or something which is definitely not a good way to start high school. No offense…" Kit stated.

"I had no idea that you were so ashamed of us Katherine and here I thought we were friends." Flack replies feigning a look of hurt on his face and Kit rolled her eyes, Flack was always one for the dramatics.

"Ha-ha Don you know it's not like that! The two of you both have cops for dad's so you know what this is like! So can we please go?" Kit pleaded as she really wanted to just go already and she thought they were going to go until Flack pulled out a small camera from inside his suit. "Please tell me that is not that I think it is."

"Oh it is Kit-Kat." Flack retorted and Kit groaned, things were now just going from bad to worse.

"This is revenge for the cop comment isn't it?" Kit asked as she narrowed her eyes, Flack and Angell were enjoying themselves too much for her liking. They wanted to make her suffer for as long possible and it was certainly working as Kit just wanted to be swallowed by a black hole or fall into a manhole, which ever was most likely to happen. Kit didn't know why she seemed so surprise by this as this kind of stuff was typical Flack behaviour. He was one of the best cops that Kit knew but acted like a big kid when he was around her.

"Of course it is, you know me so well Katherine." Flack said with a smirk as he handed Angell the camera and made his way over to Kit and paced an arm over her shoulders. Kit forced herself to smile as the picture was taken and once it was, she shook herself free of Flack who then made his way over to Angell to look at the picture. "Oh, this is a good one I think I'm gonna put this on my desk."

"Please kill me now…" Kit murmured under her breath however it was loud enough for Flack to hear.

"Relax Kit, I've had my fun with you so we can go now."

Kit had never been more happy to leave and with a small smile she climbed into the back of Angell and Flack's unmarked car. The three of them exchanged some idle chit chat during the drive over to the crime lab but Angell and Flack didn't come with her into the lab. They just dropped her off and said that they would catch her later as they had to head back to their precinct and so Kit gave them a wave as she stepped out of the car and headed inside. The elevator ride up to the crime lab was very quiet and pretty empty not that Kit minded, when the elevator reached Kit's floor the doors dinged opened and out she walked. To anyone else stepping into the crime lab might have been a little daunting but not for Kit. The lab was like a second home to Kit and her dad, in fact he probably spent more time here then he did at home.

"Well if it isn't Hurricane Katherine! Good to see you Kit, I haven't seen you and the train tracks in a while."

"Very funny Danny, come up with that one on your own?" Kit retorted as she eyed up the blue eyed, dirty blonde haired Detective Danny Messer, who loved making jokes at her personal expense with his good friend Flack.

"Looking for the old man, Kit?"

"Yeah… Me and the old man need to have bit of a chat, apparently I'm still not old enough to come home from school without a police escort and let's not forget Reed causally dropping by our apartment this morning offering to walk with me…"

"He worries, it's what Mac does." Danny quipped.

"You're telling me Danny." Kit said with a small sigh, having a parent that worried normal but if that parent was a cop and single parent of a teenage girl in New York City was something else. Growing up as the only child of Detective Mac Taylor, Kit knew that her dad worried about her well-being. He was also overprotective to boot which could be quite annoying at times but Kit knew her dad had just meant well as she was the only person he had left. Kit's mother Claire died on 9/11 and it had been the two of them ever since.

"Well I've gotta run, but the last time I saw your dad he was in A.V."

"Thanks Danny! Catch you later." Kit replied with a wave before walking off in the opposite direction of Danny. Navigating her way through the lab, Kit eventually found her dad where Danny said he was and by the looks of what she could see through the glass walls he was working on something. Knowing that she wasn't allowed to go into the labs so not to contaminant the evidence, Kit knocked on the glass wall and straight away she got her dad's attention. Mac put down what he was working on and stepped out to the lab where Kit was waiting. "We need to talk dad."

"It's good to see you too Katherine." Mac drily replied and Kit rolled her eyes as her father put his arm over her shoulder and turned her around and began to lead Kit away and off to his office, no doubt.

"I thought we talked about this dad, you're only allowed to send the goon squad when something scary has happened, not to escort me from school because it was my first day…" Kit began, starting to chastise her father ever so slightly and she caught sight of her father looking at her with a soft look from his familiar blue eyes, the ones that Kit shared with him.

"Kit…"

"Start explaining pops because I've just endured a lifetime of embarrassment at the hands of Donald Flack Jr in the space of one afternoon and I have to admit that Flack got me good dad." Kit stated as the two of them reached Mac's office and he held open the door and allowed Kit to go in ahead of him.

"I know it's just that I wanted to make sure you got back from school okay, I worry… Especially on my daughter's first day of high school." Mac said and Kit allowed herself to soften as she slid her backpack off and placed it on her father's office couch. It was a couch that Kit was awfully familiar with and had slept on more times than she could count.

"I know dad but I'm not five years old anymore, I turn fifteen in a couple of months and as much as I appreciate it, I don't need to be escorted to and from school by my big brother and two cops, even if they are Flack and Angell. I'm perfectly capable of traveling to and from school by myself."

"You knew about Reed?" Mac asked.

"Of course I knew about Reed. Dad you know I love Reed to bits and in the two years since he came into our lives I've gotten to know him pretty well and I can tell you that him leaving his apartment at seven am isn't something he likes to do even if it's to walk his adorable baby sister to school." Kit quipped with a small laugh.

"Well I'll remember that but did you have a good day at school?" Mac questioned as he watched the corner of Kit's lips curve into a smile.

"Yep but no thanks to Flack, Danny and Reed, the three of them filled my head with these stories about high school and I was half expecting my head to be flushed down a toilet or be stuffed into a locker but nothing bad happened. And I doubt anything will now because I suspect that by tomorrow everyone will know my affliction with the NYPD." Kit began before pausing momentarily. "I also made some friends too so I think that calls for pizza for dinner tonight to celebrate the importance of today."

"Is that so?" Mac questioned and Kit watched as one of her father's eyebrows raised, slightly skeptical of what came next.

Kit nodded her head eagerly. "It's not everyday that Katherine McKenna Taylor starts high school, that itself should deserve a pizza and maybe a nice gift like… popcorn."

"Nice try Katherine but you know the rules, no hard sweets until your braces comes off." Mac teased and in retaliation Kit stuck her tongue out at her father. It was worth a try.


	2. Chapter 2

Kit frowned as she looked at the worksheet in front of her, she was currently doing her homework and the answer that' she had wrote down didn't look right when she looked at it. But according to Reed it was right but Kit wasn't so sure about it and so she wearily glanced over to her big brother who was sitting beside her on the living room floor leaning over the coffee table as the two of them sat and did Kit's homework together. Reed had come over for his and Kit's weekly dinner, to spend some quality brother and sister tome together and had offered to help her out with her homework. Kit was rather thankful for Reed's help as it saved for a lot of confusion for some part and she also was grateful for the company. Her dad was still at work and Kit sometimes got lonely being by herself for long period of time as her dad was working a lot more hours than he did a few years ago after her mom died. Looking back at her worksheet, Kit was still convinced that her answer was wrong.

"Are you sure? That doesn't look right…" Kit wearily questioned as she scrunched up her nose.

"Of course I'm sure! I am the one whose graduated from high school and college where you have yet to do either Kit!" Reed pointed out and Kit bit the top of her pencil, Reed did have a point there and he wouldn't steer her wrong, right? So taking the pencil out of her mouth she corrected the date on her worksheet currently her brother was going over her history homework.

"I guess so but if you're wrong…" Kit quietly murmured.

"I'm not wrong!"

"Okay, I get it Reed your right…" Kit replied and as she did, the sound of the front door being opened alerted Kit to the fact that someone was coming in to the apartment but she didn't even turn around to see who it was as it couldn't be anyone other than her dad. "Hey dad, Reed's here and your dinner's on the counter."

Whilst Kit didn't make any attempt to move so she could greet her father, Reed actually turned around and waved to his 'step-father', Reed and Kit were only half siblings as they shared the same mother and had different fathers as her mom had given Reed up for adoption before she had ever met her dad. The three of them only found out about each other when Reed came looking for Claire, and Mac had to tell him how Claire died on 9/11. The timing of her brother's arrival was oddly fitting as Kit knew that her dad worried about her being an only child especially after her mom had died and the two of them instantly bonded over the fact that they were each a part of 'Claire' that they never knew but got to hold on to despite her death. In less than two years they had become extremely close despite the nine year age gap between them and Kit even attended his college graduation even after knowing Reed for a few months. Kit couldn't imagine not having Reed in her life, even though they had only known each other for two years it seemed so much longer than that, like they had known each for forever. "Hey Mac."

"Hey Reed, so what's for dinner tonight?" Mac questioned and Kit put her pencil down, she was giving up on the rest of her homework for tonight. Her and Reed had gotten through the majority of it and Kit was sure she could finish it off by herself without any major problems, if not she would turn to her dad who practically knew everything.

"We made lasagna." Reed replied as his presence at the Taylor apartment wasn't anything new as him and Kit had dinner together once a week either at either of their apartments or they went out, sometimes to be joined by Mac. Kit laughed at the fact that her brother had said that the two of them had made dinner, when that was the furthest thing from the truth,

"And by we Reed actually means that I cooked and he just stood around pretending to help. We all know that my dear brother of mine would die of malnutrition if it wasn't for me feeding him a good home made meal filled with love!" Kit quipped and Reed rolled his eyes which caused Kit to stick her tongue right back, just like any other pair of siblings they liked to antagonize each other.

"So, which one is mine?" Mac asked and Kit finally looked up to where her dad was standing in the kitchen

"The one with p obviously!" Kit sighed as she stood up and made her way over to the kitchen where her dad was looking at two plates of lasagna which were both covered with cling film. One plate was her dad and the other one was left over's for Reed to take home with him and Kit had made a point of marking each dish with an initial in permanent marker. "R for Reed and P for Pops! Jeez dad, here I thought you had a half brain but it's clear that you and Reed wouldn't be able to survive without me!"

"You're going to get a big head if you keep thinking like that." Mac told Kit as he pressed a kiss to the op of her head and Kit laughed as she made her way back out of the kitchen, back into the living room and sat down on the sofa as her dad went about renuking his dinner.

"Then you and Reed shouldn't give me the evidence to keep inflating it!" Kit argued before picking an item up off the coffee table next to her history book and held the item up in the air for her father to see. "Look what Reed brought me dad!"

"Reed…" Mac began and Kit sighed as she could see the lecture that was coming, her brother had brought her a pair of socks and that was a bit of a problem as kit had an affinity for socks. Kit had to admit that she had a lot of socks which varied in colours, patters, lengths and design. Then some were for bed, then there were her thick socks especially for winter so her little toes didn't freeze in the sub frozen weather that was New York in the middle of January, Kit already has enough pairs of socks for every week in the year and it was only increasing further. The way Kit saw it, you could never have too many socks.

"We walked past this store and Kit saw them and I-I just couldn't say no." Reed stammered slightly whilst Kit had a cat ate the canary smile on her face. She had been rather chuffed with her gift, giving her brother at the time of purchase and telling him that she'd treasure it always. At the time Reed just laughed and called her his ever bizarre baby sister. "It's hard to say no to that face! She's got those big blue eyes and she looks at me and I just can't deny her anything."

Kit took offense at that comment and let her brother know it. "That face has a name you know Reed and it's Kit!"

"Technically it's Katherine!" Reed retorted and Kit just sighed at rolled her eyes, Reed did have her there, whilst she preferred to go by Kit, her name was actually Katherine. She was named after her great grandmother on her mother's side who her mother used to say was the strongest woman who she had ever known. Kit had never met her as all of her grandparents had died before she was born.

"Trust me Reed I know it's hard to say no to Kit but you just have to be firm and stand your ground… Or call me." Mac replied with a chuckle and Kit just rolled her eyes as sometimes her dad and brother talked about her, right in front of Kit like she was a small child when she was anything but a child. Kit knew her dad was pretty bad at times but Reed was catching up with him and it just drove Kit mad.

"Well I think it's time for me to head out, I've got an early morning tomorrow." Reed began as he got up from the couch and started to collect his things.

"Are you sure? Or is it because dad has made you feel guilty about buying me a pair of socks?" Kit demanded as she shot an angry look at Mac, she really didn't see what the big deal was about her owning a few pairs of socks. It wasn't like she had no use for them because she did and Kit was sure that she had worn every single pair of socks that she owned at least twice.

"No and you know that it's not because of that, so stop looking to pick a fight Kit."

Kit pouted and shrugged her shoulders, to prove that she wasn't trying to pick a fight she was going to let the matter drop and not argue with Reed about it. "Fine, but how are you getting home?"

"I'm going to take the subway, I'll call when I get home I know the two of worry like there's no tomorrow's." Reed teased.

"We're Taylor's, it's what we do." Kit quipped as she shared a look with her father.

"Don't I know it…" Reed laughed as he hugged his sister before making his way over to the kitchen to grab his leftovers and say goodbye to Mac. "Well thanks for the food, as usual it was great Kit and I will see you next week and don't worry I will call before then and when I get home."

Mac and Kit both waved goodbye to Reed and after kit shut the door she went into the kitchen to make herself a glass of water. After taking a sip, Kit caught sight of her father looking at her and she knew what was coming next.

"How's he doing?" Mac enquired as Reed got caught up in a case of his a few months back which led to him being kidnapped and almost killed by a 'cabbie' killer who was terrorizing New York. The killer had slit Reed's throat and if it wasn't for Stella and Mac he would have died but there was a lot of psychological trauma that Reed went through as well a physical such as the fact that he wasn't comfortable taking cabs alone.

"Okay, he's getting there but Reed's still bothered about the scar he says it's like a constant reminder of what happened to him. So when he gets down about it I tell him that it's a reminder that he survived, ya know? Turn something negative into something positive and when Reed gets all skeptical about it I remind him that if we hadn't have lost mom then we would have never found each other and it cheers him up. Although I think Reed's starting to get sick of me…" Kit noted with a small frown.

"Reed get sick of you?" Mac questioned skeptical, he had no idea where his daughter would get a crazy idea like that as he knew Reed completely adored his sister. It was impossible to get sick of her, Mac knew for a fact that Kit was too damn loveable for her own good despite all her eccentricities but that made him love her even more. Kit was her mother's daughter and Mac wouldn't change her for the world, each day she grew and change ever so slightly and continued to surprise. Everything Mac did was so she could grow up happy. "Never."

"True. I couldn't ask for a better dad and big brother if I tried and believe me dad I have tried but I guess you can't improve on the best.."

Mac put his arm around Kit and pulled her closer to him and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "We love you too Katherine."


	3. Chapter 3

Kit was in trouble. She wasn't exactly sure how much trouble she was in but she knew enough to know that she was in a bad situation and she was in trouble. Hence her sitting or rather hiding in the ladies room of a restaurant debating who to call to save her from the trouble that she was in. Kit had gone out to the Met, her favourite place in the entire world to just have a wonder and check out some of the new exhibitions when she ran into Bradley Pennington. A sophomore from her high school and they had gotten chatting for a while when Bradley asked if she wanted to get something to eat and Kit found herself agreeing. Reed was living his life and doing whatever he did when he wasn't with Kit and her dad was working, no doubt late considering it was the weekend and he had been called in on his day off. So Kit agreed to have dinner with Bradley because she figured it would be a nice change from having dinner alone back at home. Everything had seemed fine at first but for the last half an hour Bradley has been acting really weird and sort of aggressive which really worried Kit so she had excused herself and headed to the ladies room. Hence the hiding as she didn't want to go back out there. Kit knew there was no way she could call her dad as he would blow a gasket and Kit would be in further trouble. She wasn't sure about calling Danny let alone Lindsey. Sheldon was also a no. Kit thought about calling Stella or Angell but this nagging feeling told Kit that Bradley wouldn't respond to them well. The only person left was Kit's favourite homicide detective as she couldn't call Reed as he had enough to deal with and he would want to jump in a cab and Kit didn't want to force him to do something he wasn't ready to do yet. Not to mention he would go all big brother on her and call her dad. So Kit's only option was Flack. Taking a deep breath Kit scrolled through her phone contacts and when Flack's name came up she pressed dial and waited as the phone rang.

"Flack."

Kit let out a huge sigh of relief at the sound of his voice, she had never been so relieved to hear Flack in her life. "Flack, it's me Kit I need you help… I think I'm in trouble."

"What do you mean, you think you're in trouble?" Flack asked skeptically and Kit didn't say anything as she wasn't sure whether Flack thought that this was some kind of joke she was pulling. "You're either in trouble or knowing you, you're not far from it.

"Yeah… So basically I'm having dinner with this guy from school and I don't know what to do as he is being really inappropriate and aggressive…" Kit feebly began as wasn't sure what to say as she never imagined that she would ever be having a conversation like this with Flack of all people. But then again Kit didn't think she would ever get into a situation like this.

"Towards you?" Flack asked but Kit didn't answered, as there was no way she could talk about things like this with him, she should have called Angell as it was just weird talking about things like this with Flack of all people. He called her Kit-Kat for Christ sake and teased her about having braces! She probably should have called Stella. "Katherine is he being inappropriate as in touching you?"

"Yeah, sort of and it's really starting to creep me out" Kit wearily replied, she knew she was in trouble but she didn't know how serious thing were until now. As Flack never called her Katherine, he only called her by her full name when things were deadly serious. Normally it was Kit or Kit-Kat or one of the many other nicknames he used to tease her. So him calling her Katherine spoke a lot of volumes to Kit.

"Katherine? Are you still there?"

"Yeah Flack, I'm freaked out about leaving and being alone with him and I really just want to go home so could you come get me? I'm really sorry to bother you but–"

"Where are you?" Flack demanded interrupting Kit before she could even get a chance of finishing her sentence and there was no teasing tone in his voice, this was Flack being the serious police officer and Kit really appreciated it. The fact that Flack was taking this so seriously and had no qualms about her asking him to come get her made Kit feel a lot better. She was still scared but not as much as she had been.

"I'm in a Italian restaurant but I can't remember the name exactly but it's on the corner of 56th and ninth, I'm calling you from the ladies room. Can you come pick me up and take me home? I don't think it would be a wise idea to leave with him and I didn't know what to do or who else to call and I can't call my dad because he'd freak out and have a stroke…" Kit rambled as the idea of calling her dad at this point made her head spin. Her dad would go ballistic over this and just trying to imagine in was freaking Kit out.

"Okay, I'm not to far away so I'll be there in a few minutes now Kit I want you to wait outside of the restaurant for me, do not go anywhere with this guy. Do you understand me Katherine?" Flack questioned in a firm tone of voice, making it clear that Kit need to listen to his instructions and follow them. "You wait for me and Jess to come and get you outside of the restaurant, am I making myself clear?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks Don." Kit replied before closing her phone shut, Kit then took a few deep breaths before taking a deep breath and leaving the safety of the bathroom and heading back to her table. This was no how she imagined her day going with her having to call her friendly not so neighborhood detective to come and rescue her. Before all there weird stuff started happening Bradley had seemed normal, he had seemed like a nice boy the several times they had spoken in school and he was well liked. Bradley was the smart and good looking lacrosse player and she hadn't seen the harm of going out to grab a bite with him. But something was wrong and knowing what her dad did on a daily basis made Kit worry about her safety so moments after she sat down she said she wasn't feeling well so her and her Bradley left the restaurant.

"So did you have a good time before you didn't start feeling well?" Bradley asked and Kit forced herself to smile as she couldn't let Bradley know that anything was wrong.

"Yeah, I am really sorry about us having to leave early I think I've picked up some kind of cold or something…" Kit replied as attempted to keep a sharp look out for Flack and Angell's unmarked car. The longer she was with Bradley the more Kit felt anxious and she just had the urge to flee, to run as far as she could as fast as her legs could carry her. But Flack had told her to stay put and Kit wasn't going to ignore his instructions. Kit just had to remind herself that Flack was coming for her and soon enough everything would be alright and she could just forget about this entire thing.

"Well maybe when you're feeling a bit better we should do this again sometime?" Bradley asked as he placed his hands around Kit's waist and attempted to kiss her. This was one too step far for Kit who wasn't going to let this happen, she didn't want any of this at all.

"No! Get off me Bradley!" Kit said attempting to bush Bradley off her as best she could but it was like the more she pushed the harder he held on to her. Kit just kept trying, she kept pushing Bradley off her and telling him to stop but it was no use. It seemed like her fighting back was just making it worse but kit was terrified as to what would happen if she stopped trying to fight him so she carried on. Attempting to push him off but Kit couldn't see much all she could see was a haze of arm and she was getting tired but she continued to struggle and fight back. Then came a horrendous pain in her face, Kit had no idea what had caused it but she had heard this horrible crack when whatever it was connected with her face and Kit was knocked to the ground. Wiping her mouth Kit saw that there was blood and despite how much pain she was in Kit attempted to stand up and try and run but Bradley grabbed her and shoved her roughly up against the wall. Kit tried to scream but no words would come out of her mouth.

"I take you out to dinner and you tell me no!" Bradley roared and Kit couldn't say anything, she couldn't do anything. Everything had just gone blank.

"NYPD! NYPD! Get away from the girl"

Kit thought she was imagining things but it turns out she wasn't, she could see the flashing blue lights of the sirens and she could make out the figures of Flack and Angel along with two other police officers. But she still couldn't move as Bradley still held her up against the wall and there was this look in his eyes that made Kit's blood run cold. Kit could still hear Flack yelling at Bradley to let her go but he wasn't doing anything, then the two other pulled Bradley off her and the moment they did Kit dropped to the ground. The fresh air that hit her lungs was almost like a slap to the face. Kit could see a figure coming towards her and she just freaked and she used her hands and feet to scramble backwards as far as she could.

"Katherine it's me, it's Don. Your okay now, I've got you." Flack said and it took Kit a few moments before she could actually focus and see that it was indeed Flack who was kneeling in front of her and Kit had never been more happy to see anyone in her life that she bolted forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck like she was never going to let go. Kit didn't think she could because there was this brief moment where she thought that Bradley could have killed her.

Everything that happened next was kind of a blur, Kit couldn't remember getting into any kind of vehicle but she could remember telling Flack that she didn't want to go a hospital. Things were sort of hazy and Kit could barely remember the ride back to the precinct or why Angell had explained why they were going to take her in the back way. What Kit could remember was the eyes, all the eyes that followed her when Flack and Angell led her into the precinct as most of the cops there knew her father and worked wit him at one point. People were talking to Kit or least trying to talk to her but she just wasn't listening, she was in her own world. Kit could continue to feel constant eyes on her even after the captain had Flack put her in the office. Kit needed a moment of privacy so she asked to go to the bathroom.

Kit didn't need to use the bathroom but she just needed a moment and once she was alone Kit just chocked out a sob. There were no tears or crying in the slightest, just that one sob. Kit hesitantly walked over to one of the mirrors and she wasn't too shocked about her appearance, she actually thought it would be worse. Her dark hair was slightly rustled but her face was far worse. She had a busted lip and her eye was a terrible sight. There was swelling and she had a nasty black eyes forming and Kit gently prodded it and found herself hissing in terrible pain. Kit could also bruises forming on her neck and she knew she should probably be freaking out more about this but she couldn't. There was just nothing.

"Kit?"

Looking away from the mirror Kit saw Angell looking at her and Kit forced a smile on her face. "Do you need something?"

"We want to go ahead and take your statement if that's okay." Angell began and Kit slowly nodded her head. "Do you want us to call your dad and have him come down whilst you give your statement?"

"God no! I-I can't have him here Angell I just can't. He can't be here whilst I do this Angell. Can you call my brother instead? Um… His name is Reed Garrett, he's number 2 on my speed dial. He'll pick up, just tell him I'm in trouble and he'll come straight away." Kit quietly said as she went into her bag and handed over her phone, her dad had been the furthest thing from her mind until Angell had mentioned him and Kit was too scared to think about his whole reaction to this thing. Kit knew that her dad must know what had happened by now as cops talked but she couldn't have him around her right now. She just needed some time before she dealt with him.

"Your dealing with this really well Kit."

"I've dealt with worse thing in my life." Kit quietly replied as her mind wondered off to her mom, without a doubt losing her mother on that day seven years ago was the worst thing that Kit had ever experienced. Nothing else would ever compare to that day. "Where's my dad?"

"He's in the lab, Stella's trying to keep him preoccupied for a little while longer but Mac's on edge he pretty much blew a gasket when Flack called and told him what happened." Angell replied and Kit wasn't too surprised; her dad occasionally lost his temper and finding out that his only child was attacked was going to be one of times. Kit knew that when she finally saw her dad that things were going to be difficult and there was no doubt that a lot of shouting was going to be involved and thinking about it just made Kit's head spin.

"I figured as much…" Kit grimily stated as she glanced back at her reflection in the mirror.

"Hey, this isn't your fault." Angell said, using a typical cop saying as Kit like to refer to it as. It was one of those things that cops said to people who had been injured during a crime and now Angell was saying it to her. It was surreal.

"I know." Kit replied before finally leaving the bathroom and heading back to the captain's office where she just sat, staring at the cup of water that she was given earlier that had remained untouched. Kit sat there for god knows how long, she just sat and from the window watched the detectives and uniformed officers go about their business until the door opened and in popped Flack's head.

"Kit your brother is here." Flack said in a friendly manner and wordlessly Kit got up and exited the office and allowed Flack to escort her back to his desk where Reed was sitting and waiting with a very worried look on his face. The moment he saw her it was like all the colour in his face was gone, Kit could see that Reed was shocked about the way she looked.

"Jesus… Kit." Reed says getting up to hug Kit and she didn't know what on earth to say to him as she couldn't recall the finer details about how she got half her injuries.

"Yeah, I know it's bad you don't have to tell me Reed."

"Are you okay? Have you been to a hospital?" Reed asked as he checked Kit over.

"I didn't want to go to one as I'm fine Reed, I would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Flack." Kit said and her voice faltered just for a brief second and Kit had to swallow a lump in her throat in order to pull herself together.

"I'm just glad you called." Flack said placing a reassuring hand on Kit's shoulder and she smiled at him, Kit owed him a lot.

The interview seemed longer than it really was, it seemed to take hours and Kit struggled through it but she needed this to be over with so she answered all of Flack's questions as best she could. It involved her trying to remember every push and every struggle, it was hard but Kit knew how important this was so she carried on even when she just wanted to say enough was enough. Everyone was really nice and supportive but by then end of it Kit just wanted to go home, curl up in her bed and sleep. So when Flack told her everything was done, Kit thought she was going to cry but she kept it together. Kit couldn't have a breakdown about what had happened here, she just wouldn't allow herself. When the three of them left the interview room Flack led them back to the squad room where Kit found her father waiting for them all. Clearly Stella couldn't keep him confined to the lab any longer and here he was and he walked over to Kit in all his big scary Detective Taylor glory. Kit was terrified of what he was going to say. She could imagine hear him giving her the biggest lecture and her head was ringing already god knows how it would be after.

"Dad… Look I know you're beyond furious and you can yell at me all you like tomorrow but please not just now, I just want to go home and sleep. Please dad I just want to sleep..." Kit began fully expecting him to yell at her and the look on her father's face suggested that he really wanted to yell. But he didn't. To Kit's surprise he didn't yell, instead he just hugged her.


	4. Chapter 4

Whilst she may not be a genius there were a few things that Kit Taylor was certain, the first thing was the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the best place in the world, the second was that she was a damn good cook and lastly her dad was mad about what happened. Kit knew she was right about her dad being mad because whilst he didn't yell at her not once after they left the precinct and headed home. But the next morning barely five minutes after Kit had dragged herself about of bed, her dad sat her down on the couch and was in the whole Mac Taylor mode as he forced her to listen to a ten minute rant/lecture about how irresponsible she was last night and how she could have been in a more dangerous situation if she didn't have the sense to call Flack and Angell. Kit understood why he was so mad but she was pretty certain he was mostly mad that she didn't call him but she chose not say anything about that because that would just make things worse. Kit knew what happened last night was bad because she was there, however her dad decided to blow everything out of proportion by grounding her for what happened. So Kit was stuck inside the apartment on a Sunday morning with nothing do whilst her father was at work. She had lost all privileges for the foreseeable future and she would only get her cell phone when she was going to school and had to give it up when she turned up to the lab everyday after school as part of her punishment. Kit wasn't thrilled by any of this.

As she idly walked around the apartment Kit heard a knock on the front door which caused her to pause as she wasn't expecting anyone and she really wasn't in the mood to be seeing anyone. So Kit decided that she would just ignore it and eventually whoever it was would eventually go away. Or so she hoped. As Kit wasn't really in the position to be entertaining anyone as she was still in her pajams and hadn't made an effort to get dressed all day. She was in a bad mood and as such she was staying in her comfort clothes with a nice pair of socks.

"Kit… Open the door I know your in there otherwise I'll just open the door myself." Stella called out from the other side of the door and Kit blanched she knew Stella wasn't threatening her about the door thing, she was being serious as she had a spare key to their apartment in case on an emergency. In this moment Kit hated the fact that most of the people she knew were cops and were constant figures in her life. Rather reluctantly Kit went over to the door and flung it open. As much as she loved Stella, Kit really didn't want to see her at the moment but Stella was the kind of woman who didn't take no for an answer.

"Yes Stella?" Kit asked but when Stella didn't respond she realized that the detective was looking at her face, which Kit didn't seem to blame for her as it looked horrendous and it just seemed to get even worse. It looked twice as worse as it did last night, making Kit look like that she had gone two rounds with Mike Tyson and lost spectacularly. "I know it's horrible."

"I brought ice-cream and toffee popcorn." Stella said with a reassuring smile as she held up a small brown bag.

"You know the rules Stella, I'm not allowed toffee or hard sweets until after my braces come off and that's not for another eight months at least." Kit replied with a sigh as she motioned for Stella to come in, as much as the toffee was tempting Kit was in enough trouble with her dad for a lifetime.

"So how you doing kiddo?" Stella questioned as she went into the kitchen and grabbed two bowls and the ice-cream scooper. Kit hated that question as that was all people were asking of her, Reed and her dad had been constantly asking how she was doing and her answer was fine. There was nothing more or less that she could tell them.

"Apart from the fact that my face currently looks like this? I'm doing just fine Stella, have never been better." Kit sarcastically stated as she lightly tugged at her flannel pajama pants.

"Mac said you've been quiet." Stella said and Kit allowed herself to scoff as that was pretty much the understatement of the year as she wasn't talking to her dad anymore, not after he wigged out and went overboard with that had happened and the grounding thing. So of course Kit was going to be very quiet when she was around the one person she did not want to talk to at the moment, whether her dad was aware of this Kit wasn't sure but she certainly wasn't going to tell him. He was the scientist and the detective, if he didn't know then he would eventually figure it out.

"Yeah he would say that, did he also tell you that he grounded me for two weeks and that I have to report to the lab everyday after school not to mention the meeting that we're having at the principal's office on Monday morning? Stella he has lost his damn mind and is totally overreacting her!" Kit retorted as she picked up the bottle of aspirin on the coffee table and came into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Mac did mention that when I spoke to him this morning." Stella replied and Kit frowned as she took some aspirin before helping herself to some ice-cream. "He's just mad about what happened Kit, you know how much your dad loves you and yesterday really scared him. I have never seen your dad that scared and worried before in the time that I have known him, if something worse had happened to you it would have killed him Kit."

"You don't think I get that Stella? We live in a big bad world where terrible things happen all the time and I just so I happen to the only child of a widowed NYPD detective and it's only natural for him to overly protective. I get it, dad has always been like that even more so since mom died. But I get attacked and yet I'm the one being punished over it? How the hell is that fair? I did nothing wrong as people keep telling me but apparently at the same time I have done something wrong. I don't remember Dad ripping a new one after he was beaten up two years ago or when that cabbie maniac almost killed him."

"Reed isn't your dad's son."

"But he's my brother and my mother's son so that makes him part of this family and despite the fact that Reed technically isn't related to dad, I know dad loves Reed like he was his own. Anyway back to my original point why am I getting in trouble for something that wasn't my fault. I didn't ask for any of this to happen, all I did was go out and grab something to eat with some guy that I casually know from school. I didn't deserve to get attacked and have my face looking like this and I don't deserve to be grounded for that. Mom wouldn't have let dad do something that was so clearly unfair, dad is a complete hardass for reasons I don't understand …" Kit began until she noticed that Stella wasn't telling her something – sometimes being the daughter of a police officer did come in handy. "What is it Stella? You know something..."

"After your dad and Reed took you home, the team were talking and going over your statement when we noticed something when you mentioned Bradley's erratic behaviour and so we ordered a blood test. We looked for alcohol and drugs, something to explain the erratic behaviour and it came back positive for steroids and by the looks of it Bradley's been using them for at least several months."

Kit felt her stomach drop but still forced herself to keep eating the ice cream, she hadn't been expecting that development. "Great, that is just great. I get attacked by a teenager with roid rage, I'm assuming Det. Taylor already knows this?"

"Called him last night and told him, you were already asleep by them." Stella told Kit and it explained why her dad had ripped her out so good. Didn't explain why her dad had neglected to mention this at one point during the ten minute lecture of hell. Her dad had been acting unreasonable so of course he wasn't going to mention this because he had more important things to do like grounding her unnecessarily for two weeks.

"This is just icing on the cake, I get attacked and it turns out the guy who did it was on steroids at the time yet I get the blame for it… I didn't do anything wrong Stella, how the hell was I supposed to know that Bradley was pumped up on steroids? I'm not the scientist here! Dad is punishing me over something that I could have never foreseen, I did the right thing Stella. I knew something was wrong and so I called Flack and I did everything Flack told me to do. But dad is still pissed off, whether is because I called Flack instead of him I don't know and I don't care anymore but this isn't right Stella and you know it! " Kit wailed in a dramatic manner.

"Look Kit, your dad will calm down you just need to give him some time."

Kit shook her head, her dad was a former marine not to mention a cop so there was no way in hell he was going to calm down or change his mind about any of this. Kit had a better chance of pigs flying over the empire state building. "No he won't Stella, dad flipped his lid this morning when he was grounding me and giving me the mother of all lectures. I've never seen him that mad with me Stella, he even called me Katherine McKenna Taylor and we all know that dad never calls me by my full name unless I've done something really bad. He kept switching between Katherine and then Katherine McKenna Taylor. I know dad, he is not going to budge on this no matter what so I'm just going to have to suffer for something that I'm not to blame for."

"Well I can talk to him, if you like?" Stella offered and Kit grimaced, that was the worst idea if she had ever offered her one, if Stella talked to her dad it would just cause him to dig his heels further in. Kit was already in enough trouble and she didn't want anymore coming her way.

"No! that'll just make things worse then they already are so I'm just not going to bother to fight dad on this, I'm going to do my time and get on with my life." Kit replied with a sigh as rubbed her head, her head was pounding like someone had dropped an anvil on her head. She needed to go back to bed for a while.

"Kit are you sure your okay? You don't look it, maybe we should take you to the hospital." Stella suggested and Kit could understand the concern given the black eye, busted lip and the bruises on her neck of course Kit didn't look fine and she certainly didn't feel it.

"Despite my protests dad took me to the ER on the way home last night and apparently I'm fine although my eye is unusually puffy but the doctor said that was normal. I'm fine Stella, I just have a slight headache and I'm a bit tired but I'm all good…"


	5. Chapter 5

Not once in her fourteen years of being alive did Kit ever hate her life more than she did right now, currently she was standing outside her school office like a naughty school child who had done nothing wrong, which she hadn't done by the way. Currently her dad was inside talking with the principal about the whole Bradley incident and the whole steroid thing as well. Kit had been in there for a few minutes to discuss the whole thing but she mostly kept quiet, speaking only when she had to and even then she only said a few words at best. Until she was asked to step outside so the adults could speak in private and trying to avoid getting in more trouble then she already was Kit did what she was told. Her day was really sucking and it had barely even started, she still had the entire school day to get through before having to go to the lab and suffer even more because of her grounding. Kit had been dreading this day for the entire weekend and she didn't even want to come to school she would have preferred to say at home for another day but her dad didn't really give her a choice in the matter. So here Kit was standing outside the school office with nothing really do to except pull up her knee high stripy socks which her falling down into her boots. Kit really wished that a sink hole would suddenly open up and swallow her whole as judging by the looks that she had got when her and her dad arrived at school, the news about her face had already gotten out.

"Hey! There you are Kit we've been looking everywhere for you, why didn't you meet us this morning? And how comes you haven't answered any of our texts or calls this weekend…"

Kit recognized that voice as that of Lauren Meade, one of the Kit's school friend. As per her grounding and loss of her phone, Kit had no way in getting in touch with anyone, she was only allowed to use the house phone in an emergency. So Kit's friends had no idea what had happened and currently Lauren couldn't see her face as she was purposely keeping her head down. At school Kit had three close friends, Lauren Meade, Claudia Luxenburg and Zoe Buckley. In the two and a half months that Kit had been in high school the four of them had become pretty close. Claudia and Zoe had known each other from childhood and gone to the same schools before hand whilst Lauren, like Kit had come to a completely new school away from her friend. The four of them were different, Claudia was the quiet and reserved one of the group, Zoe was the one boisterous and popular one, Lauren was just Lauren, hard to describe because she was a bit of an enigma in the best possible way and then there was Kit. Despite their difference they were close and enjoyed each other's company and Kit knew that there was no way she was going to get through the next seven hours without them.

"Yeah about that…" Kit slowly began before she lifted her head up look at her friends and the shock on their faces was clear as day. Claudia or Claude as Kit liked to call her actually covered her mouth with her hands because of it. The shock was clear in her hazel eyes and Kit offered her a small smile.

"Holy moly Kit, your face…" Zoe slowly stated as she ran her hands through her dark hair and Kit could see her friend's green eyes just returning to the black eye which seemed to get even more uglier with every day. It made Kit's stomach turn whenever she caught sight of it in the mirror.

"We knew some girl had got attacked by Bradley as it's all over the school that he got arrested over the weekend and then everyone was saying that it was you and we didn't believe it for a second." Claudia said removing her hands from her mouth to speak, she was clearly in disbelief about the whole situation.

"Unfortunately it is true, if it wasn't already obvious." Kit quietly said as she motioned to her face, she wasn't too surprised that apparently most of the student body knew about what happened as the only people who talked more than cops was high school students. And now she got to be the person who everyone was talking about.

"–What on earth happened?" Lauren began but was interrupted when the office door opened and Kit's dad and Principal Weinstein both walked out.

"Good morning Principal Weinstein and Detective Taylor." Claudia, Lauren and Zoe all chimed in together with their best schoolgirl smiles and Kit had to look down to stop herself room laughing.

"Girls is there a reason that you're here or are you just loitering around in order to talk to Miss Taylor?"

"Last time I checked Principal Weinstein, checking up on a friend and seeing how she was doing after a traumatic incident that Kit went through this weekend wasn't classified as loitering. I'm pretty sure that it goes into the category of being supportive friends." Zoe replied with a smile on her face and looking like butter wouldn't melt.

"Miss Buckley, do you always have an answer for everything?" Principal Weinstein questioned.

"Afraid so." Zoe quipped and Kit couldn't help but smirk, Zoe was one of those people who could get away with talking back to people in positions of authority and not get in trouble.

"I thought so, well I applaud you all for your efforts but I suggest you all get a move on as home room starts in less than five minutes girls and it's not in your best interests to be late now, is it? Principal Weinstein said before shaking hands with Mac and going back into her office.

"Girls…" Mac began and Kit sighed, she knew what was coming now. "Katherine's been grounded for the next two weeks so that means reporting to lab everyday after school, no phone or internet privileges and no going out. She has to be at the lab no later than 2:55pm, is that clear?"

"Crystal, we understand Detective Taylor." Zoe quipped.

"Ok, I'll see you later Kit."

"Sure." Kit said as she picked up her bag off the floor and quickly left the vicinity of the school office followed by her friends. Kit really could not believe that her dad had just said that in front of her friends, it was jus further proof that he didn't trust her so maybe she would have Stella talk to her dad in order to get him to lighten up a bit. "Sorry about him, my dad had literally lost his damn mind this entire weekend…"

"So are you okay Kit?" Claudia asked.

Kit stopped in her step, she was already getting sick of people asking how she was but it was to be expected and these were her friends so she'd entertain them. Then hadn't heard from here, they had to hear about this through the school gossip mill so owed the full story. "Fine, just a bit freaked out about what happened that's all and then my face is currently a whole other matter…"

"What the hell did Bradley do to you?" Lauren demanded.

Looking around carefully Kit to see if anyone was close enough to hear, Kit re told the story of the Bradley incident to her friends in the shortest amount of time possible considering they only had a couple of minutes to spare before they split up to go to their different homerooms, Kit and Zoe were in the same homeroom together but Claudia and Lauren were also together but in a different homeroom. "I went to the Met on Saturday as you guys know me and my dad whole the whole gallery thing on the weekends when's he is free. I had gone on my own since Major hard ass was working and after I left I ran into Bradley. We chatted for a few minutes before he asked me if I wanted to grab something to eat so we went to this Italian place he knew. Something was wrong, Bradley was acing really weird so I ended up calling a friend of mine whose a cop to come get me as I was really uncomfortable. Then when Bradley and I left, we were outside and he just was being inappropriate and things just went from there and my face ended up looking like this before the cops arrived at hauled his ass off."

"I cannot believe he did this to you, I am so going to kill him." Zoe shrieked in shock and utter disgust. Good old Zoe, Kit thought to herself as she laughed at her friends reaction. Zoe was one of those people who would do anything for her friends and in their group she was the ballsy one who didn't take crap from no one.

"Join the que, you've got a long line of cops who know my dad who are all queuing up to give Bradley a piece of their minds. Then this whole steroid thing came up…" Kit murmured.

"Steroids?" Claudia asked.

"Apparently Bradley has been on steroids for the last few months for god knows what reasons. Probably how a lacrosse player could do this to my face as Bradley isn't exactly Mohammed Ali."

"Your dad must be pissed, especially about the steroids part." Lauren noted and kit found herself laughing at this as Lauren was very much right about that part.

"Yep which is partly why my dad was here this morning, dear old papa wants Bradley to be suspended over it, well he's actually gunning for it and Weinstein says that there's more than enough grounds to do it especially and she wasn't referring to the assault part, that along with the steroids thing and the restraining order…"

"Restraining order!" Claudia said and Kit thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head although she completely understood as she had the same reaction. Her dad was really losing his mind on this thing and taking it a step too far in Kit's opinion but like he'd listen to her about any of this, he was just doing whatever he thought was best.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that... Apparently Bradley's parents are going to fight this and on Sunday afternoon they went to dad's office to talk to him about dropping the charges. Because it could ruin everything that Bradley was working on, they didn't want his whole life ruined over this which just pushed my dad further over the edge and three hours later he had the papers drawn up and had them served with a temporary restraining order barring them and Bradley from coming into contact with me. Him and his parent cannot come into any contact with myself and my dad until we go to court. But they have to work something out with the school part if and when Bradley does get suspended because he's going to have to come back."

"Wow… Papa Taylor certainly doesn't mess around when it comes you, does he Kit?" Zoe asked in a jokingly manner although it sounded more like a statement than anything else.

"Afraid not."

"What do you thinking about all of this Kit? Claudia asked.

"Me? I think my dad has lost his freaking mind but I can't stop him, Mac Taylor has just full steamed ahead and is trying to make my life as difficult as possible. I got grounded for all of this and now Major Hard Ass formally known as my dad is just overreacting to the whole thing. I understand the suspension thing but the retraining order is a bit excessive. But apparently it doesn't matter what I think about this, we just have to follow what my dear old papa thinks is the right thing to do…"


	6. Chapter 6

Hell. That was the only possible way to even begin to accurately describe the day that Kit had at school, her face was an eyesore and it couldn't help but draw attention it. Kit had to deal with people pointing and staring at her, whispering about what had happened and the fall out from the whole Bradley thing. It had been painful but it would have been a lot more painful if Kit didn't have her friends by her side, they may not have been in every single period together but there was always at least one of them with her. And then there was Zoe, if she caught sight of something pointing at Kit or talking about her than good old Zoe would glare at them until they would stop. Kit really appreciated it, she hadn't known her friends too long but they had her back and were looking out for her. Especially when the day started to get even worse as part of the investigation into the assault they had to look into how Bradley came into contact with the steroids and so the lacrosse team were all hauled in for a drug test courtesy of an emergency school board meeting and the NYPD. Half of the lacrosse team failed and as such were banned from playing lacrosse for the rest of the year and not only were their parents were being called in but they were being forced into going to counseling and a drugs awareness class. So now people were not only staring at Kit's face because of her injuries but now it was because she got the star player and half the lacrosse team banned from playing. That had really bad, it was making Kit really hate her life and now she was staring her punishment.

She was now at the lab where her long day was about to get even longer and Kit wouldn't have her friends to keep her company from the hell she was about to experience. This was day one of her being forced to spend every weekday at the lab for the next two weeks. Kit was sure that this was going to be the worst two weeks of her life. Kit spotted her dad in the break room talking to Stella, so she made her way over to him and she pulled out her phone and wordlessly handed it over. Kit was in no mood to talk to her dad unless she had to because she knew that he was behind the whole drug testing thing.

before heading over to the freezer to grab an ice pack for her eye and some water.

"How was school?" Mac asked Kit didn't say anything instead she headed over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before opening the fridge and grabbing an icepack for her eye. Kit wearily laughed as she wrapped the ice pack in hand towels before placing it near her black eye, she could not believe her day had the nerve to ask her about her day considering that he had been meddling in half of it. "Katherine…"

"My day? You want to know about my day? Well it was horrible, the kids pointed and whispered about me all day as did the teachers. I couldn't walk down the hallway without people staring at my face and it never ended. The more the day went on the more it got worse and I just wanted to crawl into a hole a die. So that's how my day was so now I am going to go and do my homework and mentally prepare myself for tomorrow which is going to be twice as worse as it was today thanks to you." Kit angrily stated before storming out of the break room and heading towards her father's office. Kit should have known better than to think she could have done that and her dad wouldn't have followed her.

"Katherine don't think you can walk away from me–" Mac began.

"Dad you really don't get it, do you? It's hard enough walking around with my face looking like this but now things have gotten about ten times harder. You seriously had to have the whole team drug tested? On top of the restraining order already? Do you not care what this does to me? I am a walking pariah in that place now!"

"I did what I thought was for the best."

"Who's talking? The detective or the father? Because I can't tell anymore." Kit retorted as she glared at her father.

"Both and unless you want me to ground you for another week I suggest you change your tone of voice young lady and start remembering that I'm your father and I will not be spoken to like that by you Katherine." Mac began and Kit just looked away, she had seen that lecture coming this way, she was just surprised that he hadn't called her by full name since he had displayed quite a fondness for it recently. "I expect you to get on with your homework and I'll come in and check on you in a bit and bring you something to eat."

Kit waited until her dad left the office and had made his way over to the AV lab before pulling off her boots and lying down on the couch in her dad's office. She hadn't been feeling great the whole afternoon and psycho dad was not making things easier. It had just gone past three and she knew that her dad wasn't going to let her leave till at least nine, which was pretty unfair as Kit only had about two hours worth of homework on her and spending the four remaining hours studying was not what she wanted to do. A nap would do for now and hopefully remedy the blinding headache that Kit had for the last couple of days which was refusing to go away.

"Hey Kit-Kat, I heard you were in the building."

Kit hadn't even heard the door opened but she recognized the voice instantly and opening her eyea Kit saw that it was her night in shining brass; Don Flack. "Yeah you'll be seeing a lot of me around, psycho dad grounded me for two weeks and so I have report here everyday."

Flack took a sharp intake of breath as he came further into the office. "That's harsh."

"That's debatable I'm trying to figure out what's worst being grounded for having me date beat me up or being ostracized at school for getting most of the lacrosse team suspended and that was after the whole restraining order thing and embarrassing me in front of my friends."

"Yeah, I heard about that too kiddo… So c'mon let me see how bad the damage is." Flack said referring to Kit's eye and so she sat up and removed the ice pack to show him. "Wow, that is a shiner you have there!"

Kit sighed, she was afraid so and as such she placed the ice-pack back on her face. The swelling had only seemed to get worse and Kit could swear her eye was more swollen then it was yesterday. Kit was in a lot of pain constantly and taking aspirin wasn't helping with it that much but Kit refused to go to her dad for help. "Yeah I know, but anyway thanks again Flack, for coming when I called. It meant a lot."

"No problem, munchkin."

"You know I wasn't sure whether I should call you? When I was hiding in the bathroom stalls I had to figure out who I was going to call. I was listing off people in my head as I didn't know what to do, the only thing I knew was that there was no way I could call my dad and it got to the point where I didn't think I could call anyone..." Kit began before pause briefly until she felt a sharp flick to her head and she looked up to see Flack looking at her with a displeased look on his face before his features settled again. "Ow… What was that for?"

"For thinking that you couldn't call any of us, look Kit Kat I understand what's it like being the kid of cop and why you felt like you couldn't go to Mac. But no matter what happens you can always come to any one of us and remember that I'll always be here whenever you need my help, just try and make an effort to stay out of trouble munchkin." Flack sated and Kit offered him a smile.

"Sure thing."

"Now I've got to go and find Danny and do some work but I'll stop in on my way out kiddo." Flack said as he made his way out of the door.

"Hey Flack?" Kit wearily called out, she wasn't sure if she was overreacting but she was pretty certain that something was wrong with her as this pain with her eyes wasn't going away. She knew her eyes was sore and pretty ugly but Kit didn't know whether eyes was supposed to still be in so much pain and after the whole thing with her dad she really didn't want to go and talk to him.

"Yeah?"

"Can you ask Sheldon if he can come in here? I'm not feeling too good, I think something is wrong and I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to feeling like this or I need to go see my doctor…"

The look Flack gave Kit worried her immensely and it had made her even more convinced that something was wrong with her. "I'll go get him now, just stay where you are munchkin."

Kit nodded and when Flack left the room she put down the icepack and proceeded to put her boots back on and moments after she had finished Flack walked back into the office followed by Sheldon and her dad. Of course her dad would find out about this and be here when Kit didn't want him around. Kit would have made a sarcastic manner but she knew she'd probably get yelled at so she kept silent.

"Hey Kit, Flack tells me that your not feeling great. Is it to do with your eye?" Sheldon asked as he sat down on the couch next to Kit.

"Yeah it's constantly sore and I'm pretty sure that the swelling's gotten worse since Saturday and I have this headache that will not go away and it's been like three days already…" Kit said as she avoided looking at her dad, no doubt she was going to get in trouble for keeping this to herself.

"Do you mind if I examine your eye?" Sheldon asked and Kit nodded her head slowly and after a few minutes of gentle and some rather sharp prodding Kit had to jerk her head away.

"Ow! Sheldon what do you have for hands? Chisel's?" Kit demanded as Sheldon merely touching her eyes caused her major discomfort and judging by the look that he was giving her, something she had said was giving him a major cause for concern. "What? What is it?"

"Kit you need to go to the hospital."

"Why? What's wrong with her Sheldon?" Mac asked.

"I'm concerned about this headache that Kit says that she's been having and the worsening of the swelling along with the discomfort that Kit is in. It could be a number of things but I suspect that it could be a fracture around the eye or there's something in the eye but Kit will need to have a CT scan to confirm it." Sheldon explained and Kit groaned, it was like the universe had it in for at the moment. Sighing to herself Kit stood up and made her way to her dad's desk and picked up the phone.

"Kit what are you doing?" Mac questioned.

"Calling Reed and asking him to come meet me so he can take me to the hospital, what did you think I was doing?" Kit replied, trying her best to sound like she wasn't trying to be flippant with her father even though she was. Much to kit's dismay her dad picked up her backpack off the floor and made his way over to Kit and took the phone from her before grabbing his belongings from his desk and guiding Kit out of his office.

"We'll call him on our way…" Mac said and Kit chose not to respond as her father turned to Sheldon. "You mind coming with us?"

"Not at all." Sheldon replied.

"Flack, will you let Stella know what's going on?" Mac questioned.

"Yeah sure thing." Flack said before turning to Kit. "Feel better Kit-Kat."

Kit sighed, this was just getting better and better as it went along. First the whole being embarrassed in front of her friends, then the drug testing and suspensions for the lacrosse team, add to that an argument with her dad and now another trip to the hospital because there actually may be something serious with her. Kit wasn't sure how on earth this could possible get any worse.


	7. Chapter 7

An orbital fracture. That was what was wrong with Kit's eye, Bradley had punched her in the face so hard that he had fractured her eyes socket, which basically meant Bradley had managed to break some of the bone already her eyes. It explained why Kit's eye was in so much pain and discomfort. That wasn't nice nor was the waiting time at the ER but Kit was finally done. The fracture was bad, but it could have been a lot worse and Kit had been sent home with instructions to take it easy and get some rest. The doctor had also prescribed some antibiotics which is Kit was standing outside a pharmacy with Reed as her dad went into pharmacy to get the antibiotics that the doctor at the hospital had prescribed. It was just another injury to add to the long list of ones she already had but thankfully there was no lasting damage, with some medication and time her eye would heal fine. Stifling a yawn, Kit was trying her hardest not to fall asleep where she was standing, she felt dead on her feet but she couldn't exactly fall asleep in the middle of a sidewalk.

"How you doing Kit?" Reed asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"Grrrrreat! I always wanted to break a bone although preferably an arm or leg because you can't exactly put a cast on an eye. But I'm not going to complain, I am just going to suck it up as I seem to get in less trouble that way." Kit replied as she tugged at her school jumper, she had been in it for over ten hours and it was getting rather uncomfortable to be in.

"Is that some kind of joke Katherine?"

Kit looked at her brother and waited a moment before she chose to speak. "I don't know, maybe. All I know is that my eye is a mess and it can't help but draw attention to itself wherever I go… Which reminds me, I hate to be a bother even more so than usual but I'm getting my braces tightened on Friday afternoon and someone has to come with me and I'd rather not go with my dad."

"Sure I'll come with you Kit, it's no bother for me but why don't you want Mac to come with you?" Reed questioned with a small frown.

"We're not talking to each other, well… I'm not talking to him unless I really have to because he's taking this whole thing way to far. He's getting me to press charges, but the restraining order took it one step further." Kit began with a small shake of her head before wincing, the doctor told her to avoid that… "Do you want to know Det. Mac Taylor spent his day doing?"

"And what was that?"

"Not only did he walk me to school but he also had a meeting with my principal and after I had left for my classes he attended an emergency school board meeting where he served them with a warrant to have the entire lacrosse team drug tested. Half the team was suspended by the end of the day and that was just before I turned up at the lab so talk about a busy day at the office…" Kit sarcastically said.

"Wow…" Reid slowly said.

"Yeah and my life as we know it is well and truly over! I will forever be known as the girl who got half the lacrosse team suspended and I've only been in high school for nine weeks. How am I going to get through the rest of high school? I went to school today and before homeroom everyone knew that I was the girl who got beaten up by the lacrosse team's star player… How am I supposed to go back?" Kit said with a sigh as she tied her hair back up into a ponytail.

"You'll go back because you're a Taylor and there is nothing that you can handle and it's not like you have much of a choice. But all you have to remember is that high school isn't everything, it's only four years of your life and years from now when your doing something great it'll only be a vague memory." Reed assured Kit.

"…Sure, use your years of experience and big brother wisdom on me." Kit said with a small smirk.

"And I'm going to use this big brother wisdom of mine to tell you to stop ignoring your dad, I know that Mac can be…. Well Mac at times but it's not like he's doing this to intentionally punish you Kit…" Reed began and Kit scoffed.

"You so sure about that Reed? The man is treating me like I did something wrong, he took my laptop and my cell phone which I can only have the latter when I go to school for emergencies. No tv and most certainly no phone privileges and then there is the fact that I am grounded for the next two weeks and I have to go to his office because he can't trust me to be home alone. My life is literally home, school, lab and home again. I did nothing wrong Reed, nothing worse being punished for and yet I am being grounded because I got attacked by some guy I go to school with. I'm starting to sound like some spoiled whiny brat but I'm right Reed. This isn't fair, so I have every reason to be mad with him because no other dad would go this overboard…" Kit retorted

"Kit can you really blame him? He is a single parent raising a teenage daughter in New York and not to mention that Mac works for the NYPD. All three give him reason to be the most over protective father in the world."

"Doesn't mean he has to be a complete jackass."

"One, don't call your dad a jackass and two, Mac loves you very much which is why he's doing all of this. Trust me Kit, I know from experience how annoying it is when your dad does the whole over protective thing when you think that you don't need it but he does these things for a reason." Reed explained.

"Whose side are you taking in all of this? I'm the injured one here, not to mention I'm your baby sister Reed!" Kit demanded.

"I'm not taking anyone's side Katherine." Reed replied with a small chuckle. "You are just like Mac, too stubborn for your own damn good but I'm asking you Kit to just let it go, I know your mad but he is your dad and he's only doing this to protect you, remember that…"

Reed finished speaking at just the right moment as Mac chose to walk out the pharmacy at that precise moment holding a small white paper bag in hand which he handed to Kit before turning to Reed. "You okay to take her home Reed?"

"Yeah, it's fine Mac we'll take the subway back to your place."

Mac nodded in agreement before turning his attention to Kit. "Make yourself and Reed something to eat, then take your antibiotics and lie down for a while. The doctor say you need to rest and not strain yourself. I'll call the school in the morning and tell them that you need a couple of days off to recover."

"It's fine, I want to go to school… I don't want to fall behind." Kit began as she looked down awkwardly not sure what to say but then Reed nudged her gently in the ribs and gave a look. "But thanks anyway…"


	8. Chapter 8

Kit stood in the girls bathroom of her school and surveyed herself in the mirror, the busted lip was practically healed but that fracture of hers was still a work in progress not to mention the black eye was still in full force although it was no longer black but now this weird purple hue but it was still an eyesore. It had been just over a week since she everything had blown up and it didn't look like things were going to die down soon. School had become a kind of nightmare, but not a nightmare that Kit couldn't handle so she took it all in her stride as like Reed had told her, someday this would all be a distant memory but until then she sucked it up. No way she was going to her dad about any of what was going on. Her dad would blow a gasket and probably try to intervene which was the last thing she wanted, her dad had done more than enough already. The only time Kit wanted her dad to return here was for her graduation and that was over four years away. So she was keeping quiet.

"Serves you right."

Looking at the reflection in the mirror Kit saw that it was Eva Green, a girl in her grade who was one of the popular kids and unfortunately happened to be in several of Kit's classes. The two of them hated each other, Eva because Kit wasn't one for conformity and did things her own weird way and Kit didn't like Eva because she was a vapid self centered girl who gave her and her friends not to mention loads of other kids grief just because she could.

"Did I ask you for your opinion on the matter? But it's nice to see that you're an advocate for men hitting women when they don't get their own way. Your parents must be real proud…" Kit questioned before picking up her bag and walking out of the room, getting mouthfuls of abuse was something that Kit had started receiving ever since the news of half the lacrosse team getting suspended came out. And because of her involvement in that Kit had become public enemy number one. Making her way down the school hallway towards her homeroom Kit stopped when she spotted Lauren opening her locker and made her way over instead. "Have I told you how much I hate this school today?"

Lauren laughed as she grabbed two books from her locker before closing it shut and turning to Kit. "Not yet but I think I can guess why."

"I just had a run with Eva in the bathroom who felt compelled to tell me that my face deserved this beating, I get that she's obsessed with Bradley but you'd think she see the bigger picture here or my black eyes which speaks for itself. But I take it your referring to the newest paint job on my locker?" Kit asked referring to the Katherine Taylor is a slut statement that she found spray painted on her locker door this morning, like every other day for the past week. She had no idea why some one would go to all that effort because she was a slut, she was the victim here. But people didn't care about that because Kit had got half the lacrosse team suspended.

"Yeah, what is it? The seventh time now?"

"Well the first this week but it's the sixth in total now, but whose counting?" Kit joked as she leaned against somebody else's locker and stared down at her boots. Kit had longed stop getting bothered by the locker issue, she just took it in her stride and tried to laugh about.

"So what did Weinstein say about? Surely she's going to do something about considering this is going to be the second week that this is happening? She can't let people can't get away with trashing your locker?" Lauren asked and Kit sighed, lately she had spending a lot of time in the principal's office much more than she would have liked.

"Well she's going to get the janitor to clean it up seeing as I told her I'm not cleaning it up again. Weinstein also said she couldn't do anything until they've caught whoever's doing it in the act. But I don't think that will solve anything." Kit replied with a shrug of her shoulders, the stares and comments, trashing her locker and the slut coughs were kind of growing on her in a odd way like they didn't exactly bother anymore. She just ignored it although she had take to rotating between using Lauren, Zoe and Claudia's gym lockers when she used gym because her locker had already been broken into, thankfully there was nothing in there at the time.

"Why not?"

"I'm getting all this grief because I got Bradley and the lacrosse team suspended, who knows what will happen if the person doing this to my locker gets caught and suspended? Especially if their one of the popular kids… It's better if I just leave it, eventually they'll see it doesn't bother me and get bored and move until next time I do something to piss them off." Kit said as she leaned forward to pull up her knee length black and white striped socks that were falling down into her boots.

"You'd really think people would get over it, I get that Bradley was a star player but he was on steroids, he was the one who attacked you. People are acting as it's the other way round." Lauren said with a shake of her head.

"I know… But these past week and a half have been killer." Kit noted.

"Miss Taylor and Miss Mead." A deep voice said causing Kit and Lauren to turn and see Vice Principal Harris in all his power hungry glory. The man was only in his early fifties and liked to pretend he had more power than he had but he was well liked with the popular kids in school. Kit could never take him seriously because of his receding hairline and his duck like appearance that got her into more trouble with him than she or her dad liked. "We have two new students joining us today and Principal Weinstein personally wants the two of you to show them around and get them settled in here."

"Sure thing, sir." Lauren quipped.

"That's great, I'll leave them with you." Vice Principal Harris told Lauren before turning his attention towards Kit. "Try not to get them suspended Miss Taylor."

Kit waited until Harris left before letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Jerk."

"Asshole." Lauren murmured in agreement.

"Told you he hates me, I wouldn't be surprised if it was him whose been vandalizing my locker." Kit said before doing an impeccable impression of Harris' last words to her. "Try not to get them suspended Miss Taylor."

Lauren quietly snickered as did Kit. "The man's acting like you ran over his mother."

"Don't tempt me…" Kit stated before she looked to her side and saw the two new kids the Harris were referring to, she had been too caught up to even notice that they were there. However now she had noticed that there were two of them who looked eerily similar like they were twins, both were tall and had dark brown short curly hair and hazel eyes. The only difference was that one of them had slightly longer hair and had a freckle in a corner by his left eye but they had just heard Kit thinking about running over their new Vice Principal's mother. Not really a good start for Kit. "You didn't hear me say that."

To Kit's surprise the one with shorter hair grins and holds up his hands. "We won't say a thing."

"Thanks, Um… sorry we didn't catch your names, too busy planning vehicular assault on people's mothers." Kit slowly said.

The one with the slightly longer hair smiles. "Neal James and this is my brother Eli."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I'm Lauren Mead and this is Kit Taylor." Lauren says motioning to her and Kit. "Your twins right?"

"It's nice to meet you both and yeah we are twins but it's easy enough to tell us apart… So what's the deal with you and Harris?" Eli asked Kit. "He doesn't exactly seem too fond of you? Are you one of those trouble makers who every single teacher hates…"

"Not exactly… I'm one of those people who tend to rub certain people up the wrong way because of my dazzling personality and witty charm." Kit said as she looked over to Lauren who just shrugged her shoulders.

"They're going to find out eventually, they might as well as get the true story from you before everyone tells them all those lies that are going around and you do need all the friends you can get at the moment Kit."

Kit nodded slowly before turning to Eli and Neal. "Okay, Harris is kind of living legend to all the jocks here because about thirty or so years ago when he was in his prime, Harris was the captain of the basketball and lacrosse team and he won all these championships and awards. Now fast forward to the present and he's beyond pissed at me because I got the star of the lacrosse team Bradley Pennington arrested, suspended and kicked off the team until next year."

"Ouch… what did you do?" Neal asked

"That's where it gets tricky because technically Kit didn't do anything except go out to dinner."

"Yep, but to clarify it wasn't a date Bradley just asked me if I wanted to grab a bite and I said yes. Unbeknownst to me and most of the student body Bradley was taking performance enhancers and during dinner he started acting very weird so I went to the dinner to call for a ride because something was clearly up and he was being very inappropriate. Then when we left the restaurant he started getting a bit rough with me which ended up with Bradley attacking me just as the cops arrived." Kit explained carrying on from where Lauren left off.

"He attacked you?" Eli asked shocked.

Kit nodded whilst Lauren pointed to Kit's face and explained further. "Bradley did that to her face and even though it's starting to fade you can clearly see the damage via the black eye and busted lip but the asshole also fractured her eye."

"Sorry to disappoint but I don't usually look like this, I'm generally much more hideous." Kit joked with a small smile. "So then my dad freaked and he called the school. So Bradley got suspended and kicked off the team and then they tested the rest of the team and six other players popped positive and so they got kicked off the team. Now practically everyone hates me especially Harris, he's taking it as some kind of personal vendetta. I'm almost flattered actually…"

"This guy attacked you and now everyone hates you? How the hell does that work?" Neal asked shaking his head.

"Yeah I appreciate how mixed up everything is, everyone's pretty mad because Bradley was the star player and now since he and six other players are off the team there's no chance of the team getting through the season so they all blame me. No one cares that they were taking steroids they only care about the fact that I got them kicked off the team. Now I've got to deal with being called names, my locker getting vandalized and most of the student body hating me…" Kit began, trailing off when she saw Zoe and Claudia making their way over to them.

"There you both are, I was starting to worry you'd been stuff down a locker…" Zoe joke.

"The day is over yet, there's still time." Kit retorted in the same joking manner although the possibility of that was all quite real.

"Hey Kit… have you seen?" Claudia began.

"The latest damage to my locker? Yeah I've seen it Claude, kind of hard not to when the words Katherine Taylor is a slut when it's written in capital letters and in permanent marker."

"They're writing that you're a slut on your locker?" Neal asked.

"Oh yeah… did we forget to mention that?" Kit replied and both Neal and Eli nodded which caused Kit to laugh quietly for a second. She honestly loved her life the way it was at the moment. It was so crazy yet oddly humorous at the same time.

"Eli and Neal meet Zoe Buckley and Claudia Luxemburg." Lauren began making the introductions yet again. "Girls this is Eli and Neal James they're new transfer students and Harris wants us to make them feel welcome. Kit's even been warned not to get them suspended."

"Lucky me."


	9. Chapter 9

"You're going to have to talk to your dad sooner or later Kit, you can't keep ignoring him."

First Reed and now Stella? Seriously? Kit wondered why wasn't anyone on her side here? After everything that her dad had done she deserved to be mad at him especially since it was making her life at school a living hell. Kit turned to Stella and gave the CSI her best it's never going to happen look as they walked into the break room, as per her grounding Kit had to report to the lab everyday after school. "Yeah… When dad starts showing me some trust and when I stop seeing the words Katherine Taylor is a slut on my locker door everyday perhaps I'll think about it. But until then it's never going to happen. So I'd stop trying Stella."

"Wait –? Someone's writing that you're a slut on you're locker?" Stella asked in shock as followed Kit into the break room where Mac just so happened to and heard what Stella had just said. And Kit could already see the lecture coming towards her although she was interested to see how she would get in trouble yet again for something that wasn't her fault.

"What?" Mac said making his way over.

"Yeah… it's kind of being going on for the past week, people tend to be pissed off when you get half the lacrosse team banned from playing for the rest of the year and the star player suspended. But on the upside I made two new friends today so my life isn't sucking as much as it was yesterday. But I'm not going to hold my breath, no doubt you'll find something wrong with them." Kit quipped in a fake cheery manner as she started to make her way out of the break room and into the hallway.

"Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble at school?" Mac demanded and Kit just looked down at her boots as if they were the most interesting thing in the word as to avoid the question but apparently her dad had no patience for her today. "Katherine!"

"Because I don't trust you dad, just as you don't trust me! Bradley attacked me dad, he attacked me and yet you punish me for it as if it was my fault when I had no idea that he was on steroids! I didn't ask for any of this! Do you really think that I wanted to have some guy beat my face into a pulp and leave it looking like this? But no you never ask for my side you just always assume that I've screwed up!" Kit angrily snapped as she was sick of this all, she was tired of nonsense between her and her dad so she was willing to have it out with him right in the middle of a lab. Pretty quickly the whole lab fell silent and no one said anything until Kit felt a hand on her shoulder and she saw that it's Sid.

"Kit, why don't you come down with me? Give yourself sometime to calm down."

"Yeah… Sure Sid." Kit said with a sniffle, she didn't realize that she had been crying and without looking back at her dad Kit left off with Sid and they took the lift down to autopsy, where it's pretty empty. And by that there are no dead bodies out in the open so Kit propped myself up on the table. Truth be told she liked coming down here because Kit liked hanging out with Sid because he knew a lot about a lot of things and always has the most interesting stories. Although her dad always made her call down to ask Sid if it's okay for her to come down as he doesn't want her exposed to the dead bodies.

"How you feeling Kit?' Sid asks and Kit shrugged her shoulders as she attempted to wipe my eyes with my school jumper but Sid grabbed her arm before Kit got a chance to do so. "Your eye Kit."

"Oh yeah… I forgot." She wearily replied and Sid smiled at Kit before proceeding to grab a tissue and gently dabbed away her tears. Because of her stupid eye fracture Kit had to be extra careful with her eye as not to damage it even further.

"Sid, do you mind?" Kit heard and she didn't have to look in the direction where the voice came from to know that it was her dd. No doubt Stella sent him down hear so the two of them could talk, preferably without either of them losing their tempers. Stella was good, Kit had to give her that. Sid nodded and proceeded to make his way out of the room handing Mac the tissue that was in his hand on the way out. "Katherine, we need to talk."

"About what? There is nothing to talk about dad…" Kit said.

"Katherine…"

"Fine… What do you want to talk about?" Kit asked as she swung her legs up and down as she knew her question was rather redundant as she had a pretty good idea what her father wanted to talk about. Although she'd prefer not to talk about it but she knew that her dad had no intention of just ignoring the subject.

"Why didn't you tell me about what was going on at school?" Mac asked.

"Seriously? You want to ask me that given what you did at school last week? If I had told you who knows what you would have done so I decided to deal with it myself." Kit reluctantly said with a sigh as she continued to swing her legs back and forth. "I went to Principal Weinstein a couple of days after it started but she said there's nothing they can do except keep cleaning my locker. All I can do is hope that whoever it is eventually gets bored…"

"You should have come to me Katherine." Mac said.

"I told already why I didn't. I don't trust you dad just like you don't trust me." Kit stated putting extra emphasis on the words trust.

"I know that I overreacted.." Mac began and Kit opened her mouth but Mac just shook his head and so Kit closed her mouth, she'd let him speak for now. "And I do trust you Katherine it's just that I was mad that you didn't call me to tell me that you were in trouble and that I had to find out from Stella. Then when I got to finally see you, I saw what he did to you and that made me so mad, I know that you didn't ask to be attacked and I know that you didn't have any idea that Bradley was on steroids…"

"I get it dad but I really didn't need Det. Taylor yelling at me, I needed my dad…" Kit admitted.

"I know. It's just that I'm supposed to protect you and I failed at that which made me angry at myself but I took it out instead. I know I went slightly overboard with everything but I just wanted you to be safe, I wanted to get justice for you and to try and make up for not protecting you. I won't apologize for that I did because I thought I was doing what was best for you but I am sorry for punishing you for something that wasn't your fault and not being more understanding. Losing your mother was the hardest that ever happened to us, it almost destroyed me but it was you that made me carry. If I ever lost you, I wouldn't know what to do." Mac said which caused Kit to take a deep breath, she wasn't expecting her dad to come out with that.

"I love you dad, you know that right? You are the one person who has been there for me every single day of my life and you do everything for me. I couldn't ask or imagine having a better dad than you and I know things have been hard since mom… I know the last thing you were expecting was to be single father to a little girl because you imagined that mom would always be around, we both did. I know it's been hard for you as mom seemed to know how to do everything." Kit began before pausing to swallow a lump in her throat. "But you always put me before everything else and that's what makes you the best dad in the world and I can always count on you to be there for me…"

"But?" Mac began.

"You've got to ease up on this over protectiveness thing, I know you see a lot of things in your line of work and that makes you even more protective of me and I'm not stupid I know the world isn't always this great place. But I'm growing up dad, I'm not that five year old girl anymore who needs you to check under my bed for the boogeyman every night and to protect me from the big bad world. I know you just want to protect me but you can't protect me from everything as much as you want to. You've just got to trust that I'll be careful and I'll come to you if I ever need you."

"I know, doesn't mean I like it." Mac admitted.

"I'll always be your little girl dad, that'll never change…" Kit said sliding off the autopsy table to hug her dad.

"I'm sorry Kit."

"Me too."

The two of them stood there for a couple of minutes until Mac let go but left his arm over Kit's shoulder. "So you said that you made some new friends today? Tell me about them."

"Not a chance."


End file.
